Lecithin

Pronounced Less-a-thin it can really help your arteries have less-a-fat

Lecithin is one of those nutrients most people have never heard of; However, there probably is no other nutrient that does so much and in so many ways. Lecithin is vital for improving and preserving good health. It can help maintain that vitality you had when you were younger.

What does Lecithin do?

Lecithin is in every living cell but the highest concentration is found in the vital organs like your brain, heart, liver and kidneys. In fact, The National Academy of Sciences has established that choline, a component of Lecithin, is important in the diet because it supports brain, liver, cardiovascular, and reproductive health.

Brain

In 1975, scientists at MIT discovered that lecithin choline has a prompt effect on the brain's ability to make a chemical very important for nerve signal transmission. The chemical is called acetylcholine.

In the brain, lecithin choline is transformed into acetylcholine. This is vital for the transmission of messages from one nerve to another.

All animals, including humans, show some degree of memory loss with aging. Scientific studies have demonstrate that long-term use of lecithin may help to minimize the memory loss associated with getting older.

Lecithin has even helped some people diminish brain and nerve problems such as tremors or nerve damage. Remember however that Lecithin is not a magic reset button that you can hit after years of abusing your body. It is still only one part of a good nutritional program that includes diet, exercise and supplementation.

Heart

The health of your heart and your overall cardiovascular system are another benefit of getting proper amounts of lecithin.

Lecithin is an emulsifier. This means that it can keep water and fat mixed together. If you have ever poured water into oil you would see that they don't mix. They stay separate and even if you stir them around, they separate again.

Your body is mostly water but there are cholesterols and other fats that are also flowing in your bloodstream. Lecithin lets the fats stay mixed and not separate out to get stuck on your arterial walls and accumulate to create heart problems later in life. It acts like a bridge between the water and the oil grabbing each and holding them together. There is talk that lecithin may possibly even dissolve existing deposits but to my knowledge, this has not been proven yet.

Liver

The importance of Lecithin in the liver also has much to do with the fact that it is an emulsifier. One component of lecithin is choline. Studies have shown that choline is essential in the liver for turning fat into energy. It can also help overcome fatty liver syndrome by removing fatty liver deposits. This fat removal can help maintain a more youthful metabolic process.

Lecithin is also found in bile which is necessary for proper digestion. It helps your body digest and absorb nutrients.

Supplementation

Do we need to supplement our diets with lecithin? I would say the answer is a most resounding yes!! Without dietary sources, our body is unable to synthesize an adequate supply. Small amounts of lecithin are found in many foods, but there is no way we can eat enough to get all that we need.

There are many debilitating diseases that can be helped with the right kind of lecithin.

Our body needs a good balance of a lot of good nutrition. And it is my opinion; we can no longer get all we need from the food we eat.

Supplementation is a must.

I sound like a broken record, but again, make sure you are researching your products and the company that makes them.

Check that it is soy lecithin sourced from soy beans and that it contains phosphatidylcholine and phosphotidylserine. Choline is what is helping your heart and brain and liver.